Recent amendments to the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) allow workers in the state to pursue legal action over sexual harassment without filing a workplace complaint beforehand. At the same time, filing a sexual harassment complaint at work could serve to support any future claims...
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Category: Sexual Harassment
New York District Court Rules Agreements to Arbitrate Sexual Harassment Claims Enforceable
In April 2018, lawmakers in New York enacted a measure that, among other things, barred the use of arbitration agreements in sexual discrimination and harassment claims. Now, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled that an agreement to arbitrate sexual harassment claims
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Number of EEOC Lawsuits Decline While Settlements Increase in 2019
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed fewer lawsuits at the midpoint of its fiscal year, compared to the same period in FY 2018. At the same time, the settlements obtained thus far have increased by a substantial amount. This comes despite the fact that the EEOC has not had a full panel...
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Does the behavior have to be repetitive to be considered sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment does not have to be repetitive to be considered unlawful. It could be one egregious act or a series of small incidents when combined is enough to totally change the conditions of your employment. In short, you have to look at whether...
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What type of damages can be recovered for a sexual harassment lawsuit?
It is going to depend on where you file and what claims you allege. So it is important that you reach out and talk to an employment lawyer here at Lipsky Lowe before you make that decision. But generally speaking, damages in this area...
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How long do I have to file a report after an act of sexual harassment occurs?
If you're a victim of sexual harassment, under New York State in New York City law, you have three years to bring a claim. Under federal law it's different. You have 300 days to file what's called a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity...
What constitutes a hostile work environment?
The nature of a hostile work environment under the Federal and New York State Law is that the conduct has to be severe and pervasive, such that a reasonable person would find that their, their work environment has changed, that they're really having difficulty...
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What protection is there against retaliation? Could I lose my job if I report it?
If your supervisor is sexually harassing you or you've seen a supervisor sexually harassing someone, you are legally protected by going to human resource or complaining to another manager about that sexual harassment. Under federal, New York and New York City law, an employer...
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Is it worth filing a sexual harassment complaint if the harassment was only verbal?
It is absolutely worthwhile to file a complaint of sexual harassment where the actions creating the harassment are limited to comments, verbal acts. In fact, many of the cases we handle are exactly that nature. They're comments, statements, unwelcome jokes, epithets things of that...
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What happens if I am being sexually harassed but there are no witnesses?
Doesn't matter if no one has witnessed the sexual harassment. If you've been sexually harassed at work, the employer is breaking the law. You have two options. You could go Human Resources to complain about the sexual harassment or you could contact one of...
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